Here is where we gorge ourselves on the creamy clostrum of Information. Here is where we nuzzle at the red-raw teat of the Up-To-Date Dataweb. Bring me the light of your Weird Wisdom and your New News.

In a radio interview, Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Angwin (who’s been one of the best at covering the surveillance state in the US) made a simple observation that puts much of this into context: the US surveillance regime has more data on the average American than the Stasi ever did on East Germans.

Indeed, the American government has more information on the average American than Stalin had on Russians, Hitler had on German citizens, or any other government has ever had on its people.

Sharp spending cuts and tax increases have long played a central role in the International Monetary Fund's prescriptions for governments in financial distress -- most recently for the struggling members of the euro area. Now, officials at the world's primary arbiter of fiscal prudence are recognizing that such austerity can do a lot more damage than previously thought.

A court has overturned the conviction of two men who were sentenced for five years in prison for "looking gay" and ordering Bailey's Irish Cream.

I'm a horrible, horrible human being - the first thing I thought on seeing this article is that Old Gregg had better steer clear of Cameroon. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346497#Comment_346497
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346497#Comment_346497Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:34:13 -0600oldhat
Alex Jones/Piers Morgan "debate"? I'm still not convinced that the man is an actor.

I find it backwards that a guy who is defending his rights of free speech and gun use started a petition to deport someone for exercising the right of free speech...but then I looked Jones up and realized that logic just doesn't seem to play in to things. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346498#Comment_346498
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346498#Comment_346498Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:49:34 -0600256
I always feel better when he's not in my country. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346500#Comment_346500
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346500#Comment_346500Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:06:04 -0600RenThingNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346506#Comment_346506
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346506#Comment_346506Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:53:50 -0600lampcommander
Atoms Reach Record Temperature, Colder than Absolute ZeroCan't be bothered to check validity as I am bedridden with superplague, but I thought it was worth sharing. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346533#Comment_346533
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346533#Comment_346533Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:15:03 -0600Purple WyrmToo hot to refuel as town bakes

It was so hot in the South Australian outback town of Oodnadatta yesterday that the local servo stopped selling petrol [...] Mrs Plate said the Roadhouse couldn't serve unleaded fuel after midday because it was vapourising and wouldn't pump in the extreme heat.

The essence of the explanation appears to be that "negative temperature" doesn't mean "colder than absolute zero". Instead, it describes a state where adding more heat decreases entropy - which is the opposite of what happens in positive temperature systems.

Also, as is often the case in physics reporting, the buzz is attached to the wrong bit of the result; it seems that this is far from the first time that a negative temperature system has been created (the first was in 1951). Instead, what is apparently notable is the elegant experimental method used.

"Firstly Tina, measles don't run and catch you or hurt you… for most children it is a good thing to get measles," she says. "Many wise people believe measles make the body stronger and more mature for the future."

Greek police have stepped up efforts to catch illegal immigrants in recent months, launching a new operation to check the papers of people who look foreign. But tourists have also been picked up in the sweeps - and at least two have been badly beaten.When Korean backpacker Hyun Young Jung was stopped by a tall scruffy looking man speaking Greek on the street in central Athens he thought it might be some kind of scam, so he dismissed the man politely and continued on his way.A few moments later he was stopped again, this time by a man in uniform who asked for his documents. But as a hardened traveller he was cautious.Greece was the 16th stop in his two-year-long round-the-world trip and he'd often been warned about people dressing in fake uniforms to extract money from backpackers, so while he handed over his passport he also asked the man to show him his police ID.Instead, Jung says, he received a punch in the face.Within seconds, the uniformed man and his plainclothes partner - the man who had first approached Jung - had him down on the ground and were kicking him, according to the Korean.

Nenad is a 29-year-old self-described “couchsurfing drifter” who recently completed a five-month, 25,000km hitchhiking odyssey from his home in Serbia to China. An official Couchsurfing Ambassador, he has hosted 182 guests and surfed 253 couches on three continents. On his recent trip across Asia, he was detained twice on suspicion of being a terrorist. He is also a really friendly guy. This is his story.

Northern Territory Senator Nigel Scullion says the key to capturing a band of rogue pigs on the loose in Darwin is to get them drunk. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346771#Comment_346771
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=346771#Comment_346771Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:16:12 -0600Wood
Glenn Beck is planning a community of his own :

On his program last night, Beck revealed that his intention to "go Galt" is quite literal, unveiling grandiose plans to create an entirely self-sustaining community called Independence Park that will provide its own food and energy, produce television and film content, host research and development, serve as a marketplace for products and ideas, while also housing a theme park and serving as a residential community.

At the center -- in the middle of the lake that is itself larger than all of Disney Land - Beck (with the help of David Barton) will create a massive "national archive"/learning center where people can send their children to be "deprogrammed" and elected officials can come to learn "the truth."

In an appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press," Powell noted that there is a "dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party.""What do I mean by that?," he explained. "What I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities."

Punk rocker Joe Strummer is to have a city square named after him in Spain following a Facebook campaign.More than 2,000 residents of Granada, where The Clash frontman became a frequent visitor, signed a petition calling for him to be honoured.City hall officials agreed to the proposals and a square in the area is to be renamed Plaza de Joe Strummer.

Westboro has never backed down from anything to our knowledge, but they recently pulled out of their planned picket of Reddit co-founder and Internet activist Aaron Swartz’s funeral. Why? Because Anonymous apparently threatened them, and after causing them all sorts of “financial difficulties,” WBC apparently listened.

Did someone say adopt a Finn? ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347057#Comment_347057
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347057#Comment_347057Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:51:02 -0600ArgosMaybe we can set up a rotating schedule and then Taphead can go on a US tour. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347062#Comment_347062
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347062#Comment_347062Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:10:09 -0600VornaskottiSnuggle with a ‘Professional Cuddler’ for $60 an Hour ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347071#Comment_347071
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347071#Comment_347071Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:52:30 -0600Foamhead
wonderland sounds like my mother's very own personal circle of hell. She'd either end-up going on a killing spree because nobody would let her talk at them or, more likely, mentally implode after being forced to confront the sounds of her own thoughts for the first time.

Unfortunately, it doesn't mean the real life X-Men are coming, just cancer (possibly).

Cambridge University scientists say they have seen four-stranded DNA at work in human cells for the first time.The famous "molecule of life", which carries our genetic code, is more familiar to us as a double helix.But researchers tell the journal Nature Chemistry that the "quadruple helix" is also present in our cells, and often in functions related to cancer.They suggest that control of the structures could provide novel ways to fight the disease.

(And yeah, at least Helsinki tends to be pretty friendly and talkative, and ESPECIALLY in the summer with those happy drunken park parties going on all over, but once you get out to the sticks things can get a little morose. Especially if there's a language barrier...) ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347265#Comment_347265
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347265#Comment_347265Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:02:18 -0600Brendan McGinley
you've got your space mining. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347272#Comment_347272
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347272#Comment_347272Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:41:38 -0600WoodGeneticist Does Not Seek Woman to Give Birth to Cloned Caveman Baby

He blames a mistake in an article he says was written off an interview in the German magazine Der Spiegel, badly misinterpreting what he said — that such a cloning might theoretically be possible someday — and arriving at the conclusion that he was actively looking for a woman to bear a cave baby with DNA scavenged from ancient Neanderthal bones. He suggested poor translation skills may be part of the problem.

“I’m certainly not advocating it,” Church said. “I’m saying, if it is technically possible someday, we need to start talking about it today.”

What size farm do you have to have in order to house that many alligators? Jesus. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347286#Comment_347286
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347286#Comment_347286Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:01:39 -0600RenThing
American pro-life conservatives reach to a new fucking low in New Mexico by putting forward a law criminilizing the abortion of pregnancies from rape, slapping the victims with a three-year prison sentence for "tampering with evidence."

Antigua and Barbuda is a small country in the Caribbean that for years had a flourishing gambling industry.

A few years ago 5% of all Antiguans worked at gambling related companies. However, when the U.S. prevented the island from accessing their market the industry collapsed.

“What was once a multi-billion dollar industry in our country, employing almost 5% of our population has now shrunk to virtually nothing,” Antigua’s High Commissioner to London, Carl Roberts, said previously.

Hoping to rebuild the gambling business Antigua filed a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which they won.

In 2005 the WTO ruled that the US refusal to let Antiguan gambling companies access their market violated free-trade, as domestic companies were allowed to operate freely. In 2007 the WTO went a step further and granted Antigua the right to suspend U.S. copyrights up to $21 million annually.

TorrentFreak is informed by a source close to Antigua’s Government that the country now plans to capitalize on this option. The authorities want to launch a website selling U.S. media to customers worldwide, without compensating the makers.

]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347408#Comment_347408
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347408#Comment_347408Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:32:41 -0600trini_naenae@Steve Toase: For some reason when I was falling asleep last night I thought of that article, and realized that the rifle/chest slapping could be a new form of breast augmentation. I'm waiting for a workout craze that helps one grow bigger boobs. (Not for me though. I like my small tits.) ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347421#Comment_347421
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347421#Comment_347421Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:49:15 -0600Bombus Hortorus
Giant amphibious vehicles removed from Portsmouth

A controversial theory that the way we smell involves a quantum physics effect has received a boost, following experiments with human subjects.It challenges the notion that our sense of smell depends only on the shapes of molecules we sniff in the air.Instead, it suggests that the molecules' vibrations are responsible.

Police say a 69-year-old suburban Atlanta man faces a murder charge after authorities say he shot and killed a 22-year-old man who had pulled into his driveway.

Best bits? The victim was already pulling out of the driveway when shot, and the shooter "assumed the young man arrived for a home invasion". ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347569#Comment_347569
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347569#Comment_347569Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:50:58 -0600Foamhead
eep

“Talk about a mush burger,” he [an observer at Surfer magazine's forum on the topic] said, referring to the way McNamara stayed on the safe shoulder of the wave, which didn't break properly anyway.Earlier this month Hawaiian Shane Dorian and a couple of European big-wave specialists rode the same beach, in slightly smaller conditions, but without the aid of jetskis.

Britain's largest police force stole the identities of an estimated 80 dead children and issued fake passports in their names for use by undercover police officers.The Metropolitan police secretly authorised the practice for covert officers infiltrating protest groups without consulting or informing the children's parents.

]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347830#Comment_347830
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347830#Comment_347830Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:26:19 -0600johnjonesI get the disgust over using dead kids' identities, but the complaint that the kids' parents weren't told seems a bit ridiculous. I mean... "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair? Yes, we'd like to borrow your child's identity to have one of our men go undercover to check for potential terrorism. So, if you say yes to this, please don't talk about it as it might get our man beheaded on You-tube. Thank you." Either don't use real dead kids or do like they did and don't tell anyone about it. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347833#Comment_347833
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347833#Comment_347833Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:32:19 -0600Doc OcassiJust to head off the whole terrorism thing, the current line on giving up our liberty and freedom from suspiscion, for security against this perceived threat is bullshit, as well as the perceived threat, there are many well informed quotes around that topic. Why don't we stop being imperialist, why don't we demand our government stop being imperialist?

Another from the 29C3. Crossing the pond, lets have a look at a 'turnkey' state, it starts a half hour in for some reason. 29C3 - Enemies of the State

Re' the Japan Idol shaming.I am reminded of 'A Perverts Guide to Cinema' IIRC where Slavoj talks about the Female never getting to have the career and family, there is a distinct choice between one OR the other, but Males can have the relationships and the career, the japan Idol industry has managed to encase this sexism in contract law. Well done.

There is more I hate about the world, but I have work to do. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347836#Comment_347836
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347836#Comment_347836Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:15:34 -0600Steve ToaseNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347857#Comment_347857
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347857#Comment_347857Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:29:23 -0600johnjonesOh, I agree with you on those points. A glance through of this indicates that some paranoid asshats sent cops undercover to dig up dirt. At which point the cops noted there was nothing interesting (in a legal sense) occurring and decided to bang some hippie chicks on the government's dime. The whole program seems foolish, wasteful and intrusive. The thing that had struck was the note of outrage that the parents of the dead kids weren't informed, like that was the thing that put this beyond the pale. Not the identity theft, infiltration, privacy violation and sex through fraud, but the not telling the parents. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347880#Comment_347880
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347880#Comment_347880Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:41:15 -0600256
GIMPS Discover Largest Known Prime Number.

The 48th known Mersenne prime is a 17,425,170-digit number, equal to 257,885,161-1 (that is; two to the power 57,885,161, minus one). ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347887#Comment_347887
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347887#Comment_347887Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:14:43 -0600curb
House of Commons votes to legalise same sex marriage. And about time, too! :) ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347890#Comment_347890
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347890#Comment_347890Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:49:27 -0600Bombus HortorusNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347891#Comment_347891
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347891#Comment_347891Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:53:05 -0600curbNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347894#Comment_347894
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347894#Comment_347894Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:06:47 -0600Timbo
Christ I sound like a daily mail reader ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347895#Comment_347895
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347895#Comment_347895Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:07:03 -0600FlabyoNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347908#Comment_347908
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347908#Comment_347908Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:02:54 -0600Cat VincentNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347909#Comment_347909
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347909#Comment_347909Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:12:54 -0600Steve ToaseNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347915#Comment_347915
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347915#Comment_347915Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:35:56 -0600WoodDid you know that if you travel to India you should call your bank first? Some debit cards, even international ones, like Visa and suchlike, are blocked for India and other "risk countries" by default and your bank needs to remove those restrictions so you can use the cards. Your banker might not know about this, so you might need to insist and tell him to call the service in charge of debit cards. This might save you a day of worry and several international calls while you're there.

That being said, the weather in Bombay is just fine. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347923#Comment_347923
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347923#Comment_347923Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:49:53 -0600FoamheadNick Herbert, Conservative - "If marriage hadn't been re-defined in 1836, there wouldn't be any civil marriages; if it hadn't been re-defined in 1949, under 16-year-olds would still be able to get married; if it hadn't been re-defined in 1969, we wouldn't have today's divorce laws - and all of these changes were opposed. I know that the signal we send today about whether the law fully recognises the place of gay people in our society will really matter. Above all, I think of two people, faithful and loving, who simply want their commitment to be recognised, as it is for straight couples, and that in the end is what this bill is about." ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347941#Comment_347941
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347941#Comment_347941Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:04:47 -0600Cat VincentNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347942#Comment_347942
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347942#Comment_347942Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:24:37 -0600Steve ToaseNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347947#Comment_347947
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=347947#Comment_347947Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:07:49 -0600Cat Vincent
(Merrick, BTW, has been blogging about the SpyCops for quite a while.) ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348003#Comment_348003
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348003#Comment_348003Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:48:25 -0600RenThing
Apparently that "beef" lasagne you Brits have been eating hasn't been. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348006#Comment_348006
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348006#Comment_348006Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:51:30 -0600FoamheadNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348008#Comment_348008
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348008#Comment_348008Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:00:11 -0600GreasemonkeyNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348009#Comment_348009
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348009#Comment_348009Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:02:02 -0600RenThingBoooooo! ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348011#Comment_348011
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348011#Comment_348011Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:40:06 -0600Finagle

Fucked.

ONE TO TWO FEET of snow to fall over the New England area, with local amounts as high as three feet. That's a meter of snow in places. In 24 hours. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348012#Comment_348012
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348012#Comment_348012Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:44:26 -0600Argos
Here is his manifesto. Sad thing is, a lot of what's in there isn't even that crazy, but then he's killing innocent people. (I think so far he's killed the daughter of an LAPD officer and her fiancee, and shot a different LAPD officer). ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348027#Comment_348027
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348027#Comment_348027Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:46:17 -0600dorkmuffin

(I miss New England.) ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348028#Comment_348028
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348028#Comment_348028Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:46:19 -0600Alan Tyson
BBC's reporting on the story. While I don't sympathize with the guy (he lost the moral or ethical high ground the moment he started shooting and kidnapping innocents), the summary of the manifesto makes him sound a lot less lucid than the manifesto itself does (grammatical and spelling errors aside). ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348029#Comment_348029
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348029#Comment_348029Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:51:41 -0600ArgosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348048#Comment_348048
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348048#Comment_348048Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:29:28 -0600Cat VincentNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348050#Comment_348050
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348050#Comment_348050Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:46:16 -0600ArgosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348051#Comment_348051
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348051#Comment_348051Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:49:20 -0600Michael WayneNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348061#Comment_348061
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348061#Comment_348061Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:36:11 -0600oldhat"The problem with the situation is it looked like the police had the goal of administering street justice and in so doing, didn't take the time to notice that these two older, small Latina women don't look like a large black man," Jonas said."

Sigh. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348064#Comment_348064
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348064#Comment_348064Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:26:22 -0600OddcultNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348067#Comment_348067
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348067#Comment_348067Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:51:45 -0600256The situation being described does sound like a raw deal, but you do have to consider the source. It's not impossible that even detailed parts of his story are part of whatever paranoid nutcasery that has caused him to conclude that spree-killing is a good and reasonable course of action. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348074#Comment_348074
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348074#Comment_348074Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:09:20 -0600OddcultI've seen some speculation that the pro-Obama and gun control bits have been added in, in order to discredit them, and also that the LAPD released cut down versions which censored some of the other information that looked damaging to them.

Wow, look at that. The destruction of Rome is at hand. Good to know... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348207#Comment_348207
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348207#Comment_348207Mon, 11 Feb 2013 04:24:32 -0600Michael NimmoWhy had I not seen these before? I love stuff like this (which is weird for an athiest)

If you are a young male, aged between say about 19 and about 35, and you're a Muslim, or you look like a Muslim, or you come from a Muslim country, then you are not welcome to travel on any of the West's airlines ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348334#Comment_348334
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348334#Comment_348334Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:24:45 -0600E-Ray
live stream of the Dorner situation as it unfolds.

Two officers down, one of them dead. The cabin burned to the ground and a body retrieved from the ashes is reported to be Dorner's. Mixed reports of Dorner setting the fire himself and committing suicide or the LAPD firing tear gas canisters and setting it alight. Either way, this looks a lot like Waco. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348348#Comment_348348
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348348#Comment_348348Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:07:25 -0600sneak046
Christopher Dorner Shootout cops tell them to burn that motherf***** 2 - 12 -13

If they actually managed to tackle that in that short of a notice, given that this was completely off the radar for all appearances, that would be an extremely impressive (and highly improbable) feat. As pointed out by a friend, our planet is moving at 29-30 km/sec (if someone actually knows a more specific/recent number, feel free to correct), so even if that meteorite was holding still... yeah, I have my doubts about Russian missile-defense units hitting that on the fly. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348459#Comment_348459
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348459#Comment_348459Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:50:54 -0600Foamhead
supposed to have a very near-miss, too?

As for it's larger relative, should be able to get a good view of it in the UK tonight given how clear the skies will be:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21442863 ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348462#Comment_348462
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348462#Comment_348462Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:23:59 -0600FoamheadNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348472#Comment_348472
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348472#Comment_348472Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:02:36 -0600Internaut
"The Bad Astronomer analyzes incoming reports about the apparent meteoric fireball over Russia: 'Apparently, at about 09:30 local time, a very big meteor burned up over Chelyabinsk, a city in Russia just east of the Ural mountains, and about 1500 kilometers east of Moscow. The fireball was incredibly bright, rivaling the Sun! There was a pretty big sonic boom from the fireball, which set off car alarms and shattered windows. I'm seeing some reports of many people injured (by shattered glass blown out by the shock wave). I'm also seeing reports that some pieces have fallen to the ground, but again as I write this those are unconfirmed." This is the best summary I've found so far, and links to lots of videos and images. He also clarifies something I've been wondering about: 'This is almost certainly unrelated to the asteroid 2012 DA14 that will pass on Friday.'"

They've apparently been doing it for a while, but the publicity around the Oscar Pistorius case, where the victim's last tweets are a big part of the press reporting, has made them go public.

The one of the professional cyclist tweeting 'its a bit windy, not sure its safe to go training' the day they went out and got killed on the road is just plain eerie. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348744#Comment_348744
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=348744#Comment_348744Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:03:09 -0600256
Smallest Exoplanet Discovered So Far: In a 13-day orbit around a star 200ly away, Kepler-37b is smaller than Mercury, barely larger than the Moon.

Gentlemen, they’re not just for hipsters and the homeless any more. While both dead sexy and totally awesome, beards are also a boon to your overall health. Researchers from down under discovered that men with beards and moustaches actually enjoy numerous benefits including, but not limited to, instant handsomeness.

A study from the University of Southern Queensland, published in the Radiation Protection Dosimetry Journal, found that beards block 90 to 95 percent of UV rays, thereby slowing the aging process and reducing the risk of skin cancer. Got asthma? Pollens and dust simply get stuck in that lustrous facial hair. Additionally, all that hair retains moisture and protects from the wind, keeping you looking young and fresh-faced. What’s more, shaving is usually the cause of ingrown hairs and bacterial infections that lead to acne.

Air Force officials declined a request to observe flight tests at a "micro-aviary" they've built, he reported, but they did let him see a video dramatization "starring micro-UAVs that resemble winged, multi-legged bugs. The drones swarm through alleys, crawl across windowsills, and perch on power lines. One of them sneaks up on a scowling man holding a gun and shoots him in the head."

Feb. 27, 2013 — Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Our findings revealed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future was associated with a greater risk of disability and death within the following decade," said lead author Frieder R. Lang, PhD, of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. "Pessimism about the future may encourage people to live more carefully, taking health and safety precautions." The study was published online in the journal Psychology and Aging.

When we debate health care policy, we seem to jump right to the issue of who should pay the bills, blowing past what should be the first question: Why exactly are the bills so high?What are the reasons, good or bad, that cancer means a half-million or million-dollar tab? Why should a trip to the emergency room for chest pains that turn out to be indigestion bring a bill that can exceed the cost of a semester of college? What makes a single dose of even the most wonderful wonder drug cost thousands of dollars? Why does simple lab work done during a few days in a hospital cost more than a car? And what is so different about the medical ecosystem that causes technology advances to drive bills up instead of down?

For those without the time or inclination to plough through a 26,000-word article, here's a tl;dr summary from The Washington Post..

Much of Brill’s piece focuses on the absurdly high prices that hospitals and doctors charge for the most mundane items. A single Tylenol tablet can cost $1.50 when “you can buy 100 of them on Amazon for $1.49 even without a hospital’s purchasing power.” One patient gets charged $6 for a marker used to mark his body before surgery. Another is billed $77 for each of four boxes of gauze used. One hospital, according to Brill’s math, bills $1,200 per hour for one nurse’s services.

The game allows the player to play both sides of a riot where, as Menchiari explains it, "there is no such thing as victory or defeat." Still in development, Menchiari and his team plan to travel to Italy, Greece, and Egypt to document live riots where, to avoid bias, only footage and dialogue captured by them will be used in-game.

]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349345#Comment_349345
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349345#Comment_349345Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:17:18 -0600William Joseph DunnNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349365#Comment_349365
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349365#Comment_349365Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:48:11 -0600FlabyoThe idea being that you can find out that shifting your exit a couple of feet might make the difference between 10,000 deaths and 100 deaths in the event of a fire.

Before the infamous Spanish Inquisition of the 15th Century, some 300,000 Jews lived in Spain. It was one of the largest communities of Jews in the world.

Today, there are about 40,000 or 50,000 - but that number could be about to swell dramatically.

In November, Spain's justice minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon announced a plan to give descendants of Spain's original Jewish community - known as Sephardic Jews - a fast-track to a Spanish passport and Spanish citizenship.

"In the long journey Spain has undertaken to rediscover a part of itself, few occasions are as moving as today," he said.

Anyone who could prove their Spanish Jewish origins, he said, would be given Spanish nationality.

The system is composed of two brown dwarf stars, which are usually considered a line call between "small star" and "big gas giant". I imagine that WISE J104915.57-531906 (catchy, eh?) will now be a pretty attractive target for planet-hunters. Also, NASA recently mapped the weather in the atmosphere of a more distant brown dwarf, 2MASSJ22282889-431026. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349861#Comment_349861
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349861#Comment_349861Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:30:29 -0500Purple WyrmBrisbane's bucketing makes it hard to get hold of the scrotums

Large kangaroo scrotums are in short supply for a souvenir-making taxidermist after the continuing rain drove kangaroos beyond the range of shooters.

Sampled drilled from sedimentary rocks at Yellowknife Bay show sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon, and chemical pairings like sulfates and sulfides that could have been energy sources for micro-organisms.

""A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program [...] "From what we know now, the answer is yes."" ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349906#Comment_349906
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349906#Comment_349906Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:14:54 -0500RenThingNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349916#Comment_349916
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349916#Comment_349916Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:32:17 -0500Alan Tyson
God has never oh wait actually... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349918#Comment_349918
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349918#Comment_349918Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:41:10 -0500oldhat...when did people start giving a shit about the pope? I mean, this is kind of the same thing with the Royal Family and finding out everyone was devoted to them. I don't understand.

Am also curious to why people thought the new Pope would be anything other than a white old guy with pretty archaic views. Like this little gem on gay marriage:

"Let's not be naïve, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."

I mean, I won the betting pool by thinking things wouldn't change so I'm not TOTALLY annoyed... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349920#Comment_349920
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349920#Comment_349920Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:26:27 -0500sneak046I write this as BBC radio are talking (still) about how the white smoke was generated, and the presenter just asked listeners to text in 'what do you want from this Pope?', and then said that 'even if you're not a catholic he can still shape your life'. I fucking hope not. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349921#Comment_349921
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349921#Comment_349921Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:42:51 -0500JP ValdecantosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349922#Comment_349922
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349922#Comment_349922Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:43:37 -0500TFI was hearing stories about the smoke and Popes since I was knee high ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349925#Comment_349925
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349925#Comment_349925Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:54:56 -0500sneak046But i am an ardently irreligious person and a republican so I find the endless discussions about the royal family, popes, and so on to be highly irritating... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349926#Comment_349926
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349926#Comment_349926Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:03:04 -0500Alan TysonNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349932#Comment_349932
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349932#Comment_349932Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:38:01 -0500Morac(Yes, I know that it's not just America that is the perpetrator of such mundane media pushing, but it is definitely at the forefront the rolling Great Media Machine). ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349933#Comment_349933
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349933#Comment_349933Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:03:17 -0500Bombus HortorusNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349934#Comment_349934
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349934#Comment_349934Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:20:28 -0500indysleazeNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349943#Comment_349943
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349943#Comment_349943Thu, 14 Mar 2013 07:45:39 -0500dorkmuffinOr maybe that's just the World Service that's been syndicated to the US, in which case I RETRACT MY PREVIOUS STATEMENT.

Adding news article so that I add SOME value.

LHC is pretty sure, for real guys, that they've found the Higgs Boson. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349944#Comment_349944
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349944#Comment_349944Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:18:57 -0500Steve ToaseThe other factor is that with all the scandals sparking around the world in the Catholic Church watchers are interested to see how a large secretive leadership deals with a PR profile just slightly better than 70's djs.

@JP take out the Pope. Imagine some bloke called Emperor Claudius in the 2nd century BC and it'll probably make more sense. The Roman Empire bit, rather than the holy bit. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349948#Comment_349948
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349948#Comment_349948Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:16:35 -0500Argos
Am also curious to why people thought the new Pope would be anything other than a white old guy with pretty archaic views.

Just wanna throw out that there are some people who are upset that a Mexican "wetback" is the new Pope. Yes, he is essentially a white European, but for some people anyone south of the US is a brown Mexican, so... well there's that. Sure he's white, but just the fact he's from South America is a big deal to some people. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349950#Comment_349950
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349950#Comment_349950Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:18:57 -0500oldhatBut really? People are upset by that? ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349951#Comment_349951
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349951#Comment_349951Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:21:15 -0500ArgosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349952#Comment_349952
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349952#Comment_349952Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:25:11 -0500oldhatAlso, never heard the word "wetback" before so looked it up. What asshole invented that word? ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349953#Comment_349953
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349953#Comment_349953Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:32:29 -0500Argos
do eat a lot of beans. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349954#Comment_349954
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349954#Comment_349954Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:37:17 -0500oldhatNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349958#Comment_349958
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349958#Comment_349958Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:53:54 -0500ArgosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349967#Comment_349967
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349967#Comment_349967Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:12:52 -0500G. FoyleNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349969#Comment_349969
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=349969#Comment_349969Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:33:08 -0500StefanJ
Roughing It, about his stage coach journey out west as a teenager. Twain would likely, at the time, be considered pretty fair-minded, but at one point he casually refers to the Mexican staff at a coach stop as "beaners."

RSS readers take raw feeds of data—headline, text, timestamp, etc.—and display that information in a stripped-down interface along with many other feeds, which is what makes them so efficient. (Here is the RSS feed for Quartz.) Less obvious is how many RSS readers, including Google’s, serve as anti-censorship tools for people living under oppressive regimes. That’s because it’s actually Google’s servers, located in the US or another country with uncensored internet, that accesses each feed. So a web user in Iran just needs access to google.com/reader in order to read websites that would otherwise be blocked.

And, indeed, Google Reader has long been accessible in Iran, where it is the most popular RSS reader. Iran would probably have to block all of Google and its many popular services in order to keep its citizens from using Reader. YouTube, by contrast, is easier to censor, though it is also owned by Google, because the video site is located on its own domain, youtube.com. Reader is also harder, though not impossible, to block because it uses more secure technology known as HTTPS.

And anyone who in interested in helping and can should run a Tor relay. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350157#Comment_350157
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350157#Comment_350157Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:53:32 -0500WoodNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350159#Comment_350159
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350159#Comment_350159Mon, 18 Mar 2013 05:40:36 -0500Doc Ocassi
And these devices are mostly made by the western companies.

Have a read through Tors literature.

Re. Iran, They are being directly threated by the west and they can see that a lot clearer that the general population on our side.Hope you are all going to be tuning into panorama tonight. The Spies Who Fooled the World ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350167#Comment_350167
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350167#Comment_350167Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:35:05 -0500Doc OcassiThe Internet is a surveillance state

Or better still is there a way of preventing it being used as such, but keeping all the things we love about it. I feel a responsibility to fight for it because I have grown up with it and want to keep all the things that make it great; the free flow of information, the ability to talk to anyone about anything without feeling I have to use some type of self censorship, all the space for people to explore without fear of what is around the corner.

Now I have to accept Licence agreements that I cannot possibly read, fully comprehend or reasonably accept, just to send my friend Dave a picture of a kitten, to annoy him obviously. We really need a social network platform that is impenetrable to all the data analysis, manipulation, and Point-scoring narcissistic Arse-Tossers. One where you can get a real human moment between two like-minded individuals, I want an Internet that I can be proud of, but I fear that in actively taking responsibility for it I will be left by myself at the mercy of some organization that doesn't give a flying fuck about it.

There is a part of me that thinks that the Internet is being slowly strangled, by who and why I don't fully understand.

I have to keep reminding myself of the quote of the great Steve Earl."Paranoia is a fear with no basis."

^ I hope this doesn't make my sound like a Point-Scoring Narcissistic Arse-Tosser, I just wanted to vent a little.Thanks for listening. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350228#Comment_350228
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350228#Comment_350228Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:55:08 -0500FlabyoA country about to go bankrupt, the EU requiring a frankly ludicrous 7% levy on EVERYONES savings before they'll help them out (which not one Cypriot MP voted to accept), and now it looks like they're going to sell their banks off to Russia to survive instead.

Weird situation. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350233#Comment_350233
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350233#Comment_350233Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:31:10 -0500dorkmuffinEdited to add: the Wall Street Journal has a pretty large feature on it on their home page, and the NYTimes at least mentions it on their home page. The Washington Post includes it on their homepage in "the day in pictures" feature. I've noticed a lot of the coverage I've seen is mentioned partly as international news, and partly as business/economy news. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350235#Comment_350235
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350235#Comment_350235Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:50:49 -0500Scrymgeour
It was an excellent piece of politics but sadly economically shortsighted. The banks are still closed, they will not receive a bailout, and it puts the future of the Eurozone at risk for Cyprus to hold their hat out to Russia. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350239#Comment_350239
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350239#Comment_350239Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:55:59 -0500FlabyoNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350241#Comment_350241
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350241#Comment_350241Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:40:13 -0500celan
You Are Now Leaving The Heliosphere: Voyager Exits the Solar System ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350244#Comment_350244
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350244#Comment_350244Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:31:51 -0500Scrymgeour
However I work on the road so I get to listen to A LOT of BBC radio 4 (which is quite simply the best thing ever), and they've been running stuff on this pretty much constantly (until the budget hit today). There was an interview with someone from the European central bank and I've basically paraphrased..

Experts on infectious diseases Thursday warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia.

The boy last month became the third person in the country to die of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV), for which there is no effective treatment.

"ABLV has proved fatal in all cases reported to date. There is a need for increased public awareness of the risk associated with bat contact," Francis said. "In short, people should stay away from bats."

Death held out a hand. I WANT, he said, A BOOK ABOUT THE DANGEROUS CREATURES OF FOURECKS-

Albert looked up and dived for cover, receiving only mild bruising because he had the foresight to curl into a ball.

After a while Death, his voice a little muffled, said: ALBERT, I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD GIVE ME A HAND HERE.

Albert scrambled up and pulled at some of the huge volumes, finally dislodging enough of them for his master to clamber free.

HMM... Death picked up a book at random and read the cover. "DANGEROUS MAMMALS, REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS, BIRDS, FISH, JELLYFISH, INSECTS, SPIDERS, CRUSTACEANS, GRASSES, TREES, MOSSES, AND LICHENS OF TERROR INCOGNITA, " he read. His gaze moved down the spine. VOLUME 29C, he added. OH. PART THREE, I SEE.

He glanced up at the listening shelves. POSSIBLY IT WOULD BE SIMPLER IF I ASKED FOR A LIST OF THE HARMLESS CREATURES OF THE AFORESAID CONTINENT?

They waited.

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT-

"No, wait master. Here it comes."

Albert pointed to something white zigzagging lazily through the air. Finally Death reached up an caught the single sheet of paper.

He read it carefully and then turned it over briefly just in case anything was written on the other side.

"May I?" said Albert. Death handed him the paper.

"'Some of the sheep, '" Albert read aloud. "Oh, well. Maybe a week at the seaside'd be better, then."

WHAT AN INTRIGUING PLACE, said Death. SADDLE UP THE HORSE, ALBERT. I FEEL SURE I'M GOING TO BE NEEDED.

]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350285#Comment_350285
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350285#Comment_350285Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:23:41 -0500Internaut
"Fugitive Acupuncturist Arrested for Infecting people with HIV and Threatening Police with a Gun and a Samurai Sword." ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350291#Comment_350291
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350291#Comment_350291Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:21:31 -0500Cat VincentHere's a nasty one for readers of Peter Watts' excellent and nasty Rifters books, from the man himself - the Behemoth bug has a real world analogue:

Or so I hear... Ahem. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350315#Comment_350315
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350315#Comment_350315Fri, 22 Mar 2013 04:06:47 -0500MWHSAs an aside, cutting with a sword is mostly a matter of edge alignment and the mechanics of following through with the cut - especially with a slicing cut (like the 'Polish' sabres, or a katana). I don't know much about Asian swords, but it is quite common for poor modern replicas of some European blade types to be better at cutting flesh/tatami matts/water bottles than the surviving examples are. Whoever made the modern replicas optimised them for that function... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350319#Comment_350319
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350319#Comment_350319Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:31:42 -0500curbKnife blade taken from man's back after three years ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350324#Comment_350324
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350324#Comment_350324Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:32:54 -0500ArgosNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350325#Comment_350325
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350325#Comment_350325Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:19:28 -0500WoodNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350331#Comment_350331
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350331#Comment_350331Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:30:50 -0500curbNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350332#Comment_350332
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350332#Comment_350332Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:52:25 -0500Wood
North Dakota Votes To Ban All Abortions By Defining Life At Conception

North Dakota lawmakers voted on Friday afternoon to pass a “personhood” abortion ban, which would endow fertilized eggs with all the rights of U.S. citizens and effectively outlaw abortion. The measure, which passed the Senate last month, passed the House by a 57-35 vote and now heads to a ballot vote, likely in the next November election.

A personhood ban could have far-reaching consequences even beyond abortion care, since it will charge doctors who damage embryos with criminal negligence. Doctors in the state say it will also prevent them from performing in vitro fertilization, and some medical professionals have vowed to leave the state if it is signed into law.

A transgendered teacher, who had previously been monstered in the national press, apparently for having the temerity to exist in front of people's children, was found dead in an apparent suicide. As this article points out, there is no proven link so far to the media coverage, but what Richard Littlejohn wrote was absolutely, irredeemably fucking vile even by his already low standards. And extremely stupid.

If, as a parent, you're not able to adequately and simply explain to your kids that some people choose to change their gender in order to be happier, what hope do you have of explaining death? Or war? Or famine? Or even British Summer Time? Or cats? I could explain that to my four year old and she'd accept it and understand it without flinching. Why the fuck is it a cause of shame or embarrassment to say that?

"The school shouldn't be allowed to elevate its 'commitment to diversity and equality' above its duty of care to its pupils and their parents.

It should be protecting pupils from some of the more, er, challenging realities of adult life, not forcing them down their throats.

These are primary school children, for heaven's sake. Most them still believe in Father Christmas. Let them enjoy their childhood. They will lose their innocence soon enough."

Fucking horseshit Richard. It's nothing to do with the children, is it? If they're 'confused' by some aspect of life, it's your damn JOB as a parent to guide them. That's the responsibility you took on when you chose to bring a human being into the world. If you're too much of a damn coward to do that, don't become a parent.

Some days, I feel ashamed to be part of this species... ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350349#Comment_350349
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350349#Comment_350349Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:07:08 -0500sseloskeNEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350368#Comment_350368
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350368#Comment_350368Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:46:52 -0500Kradlum
It should be protecting pupils from some of the more, er, challenging realities of adult life, not forcing them down their throats.

Maybe the school should ask Richard Littlejohn to come in and explain to the pupils that their teacher probably killed herself due to press harassment. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350369#Comment_350369
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350369#Comment_350369Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:57:04 -0500curbOf course, Littlejohn has plenty of form on this front. The most pertinent stuff is from the 4.50 mark or thereabouts, but it's all good. ]]>
NEWSTRANGE -- the Informus Thread (January 2013)http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350376#Comment_350376
http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=10957&Focus=350376#Comment_350376Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:49:17 -0500Wood
The CIA's secret experiments to turn cats into spies

In the 1960s, the Central Intelligence Agency recruited an unusual field agent: a cat. In an hour-long procedure, a veterinary surgeon transformed the furry feline into an elite spy, implanting a microphone in her ear canal and a small radio transmitter at the base of her skull, and weaving a thin wire antenna into her long gray-and-white fur. This was Operation Acoustic Kitty, a top-secret plan to turn a cat into a living, walking surveillance machine. The leaders of the project hoped that by training the feline to go sit near foreign officials, they could eavesdrop on private conversations.

The problem was that cats are not especially trainable—they don’t have the same deep-seated desire to please a human master that dogs do—and the agency’s robo-cat didn’t seem terribly interested in national security. For its first official test, CIA staffers drove

Acoustic Kitty to the park and tasked it with capturing the conversation of two men sitting on a bench. Instead, the cat wandered into the street, where it was promptly squashed by a taxi.

Burmese monks have often been involved in sectarian violence, with anti-Muslim protests in Mandalay led by the saffron-robed religious leaders last year. Meikhtila is no different. One monk, who wielded a foot-long sword, threatened an Associated Press journalist and demanded his camera, while other monks attempted to drag a group of reporters out of a van.

Peter Scott, who has died aged 82, was a highly accomplished cat burglar, and as Britain’s most prolific plunderer of the great and good took particular pains to select his victims from the ranks of aristocrats, film stars and even royalty.

Always a meticulous planner, Scott bought a new suit before each job, so that he would not look out of place in the premises he was burgling. Fear, the possibility of capture, excited him.

During one break-in “a titled lady appeared at the top of the stairs. 'Everything’s all right, madam,’ I shouted up, and she went off to bed thinking I was the butler.” On other occasions, if disturbed by the occupier, he would shout reassuringly: “It’s only me!”

To the impassive detectives who arrested him, Scott quoted a line from WE Henley: “Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed.” He often drew on literary allusions, quoting Confucius, Oscar Wilde and Proust.

“The people I burgled got rich by greed and skulduggery. They indulged in the mechanics of ostentation — they deserved me and I deserved them. If I rob Ivana Trump, it is just a meeting of two different kinds of degeneracy on a dark rooftop.”